The present invention relates to saws for workpiece plates, and in particular to an apparatus for the program controlled longitudinal and transverse cutting of workpiece plates.
When a workpiece plate or stack of workpiece plates is to be cut both longitudinally and transversely, typically, for example, a stack of plates would be presented first to a longitudinal saw. A trim cut would be executed to smooth and square the stack. If edge strips were to be cut from the stack of plates, which would be transversely cut in lengths different than those of the plate sections to be cut, the edge strips would be fed directly to the transverse saw in prior art apparata. Then plate sections would be longitudinally cut from the remaining stack, and fed to the transverse saw. The next stack would then be trimmed, the edge strips longitudinally cut and transversely cut, the plate sections longitudinally cut and transversely cut and so on. Such a process, using presently available equipment, is time consuming and inefficient. Further, the cutting of workpiece plates in this manner increases the likelihood that the end strips, since they are being cut in separate operations, may be cut to somewhat different lengths, taking into account the inconsistencies which naturally arise from cutting operation to cutting operation.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an apparatus for the program controlled longitudinal and transverse sectioning of workpiece plates having an improved efficiency.
It is a further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus which permits such described end strips to be cut simultaneously, and therefore with the same dimensions.
These and other objects of the invention will become apparent in light of the present specification, claims and drawings.